University students across the UAE will be immersed in the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai thanks to a series of inspiring and educational tours that will offer students the opportunity to make new connections and acquire real-life knowledge.

The Expo University Visit Programme will invite all 140,000 students studying full-time at the UAE’s 120-plus universities to experience specially-curated tours during the six months of Expo 2020, enabling them to connect with peers, industry leaders and global experts.

The initiative was launched this week at the University Leadership Forum, held in Expo 2020’s Opportunity District and attended by more than 80 senior leadership executives from the UAE’s public and private universities. The forum kick-started a series of discussions that will align the programme’s content with the learning objectives of institutions and build awareness and excitement among students and faculty members.

Manal AlBayat, Chief Community Engagement Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Throughout history, World Expos have revealed new inventions, the latest technologies and incredible architecture that have inspired millions of people. The Expo University Visit Programme will ensure that our nation’s talented and ambitious youth are able to take full advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.

“With 192 countries in one location, each showing the very best that they have to offer, the educational tours will help fuel students’ curiosities, spark new ideas, encourage new connections, and inspire our youth to become the leaders and change makers of the future.”

The programme, which mirrors the successful Expo School Programme, reflects the breadth of experiences Expo has to offer and focuses on seven areas: Innovation and Technology; Urban Planning and Future Cities; Media and International Studies; Science and Sustainability; Mega-event Planning and Operations; Design, Architecture and Engineering; and Business and Entrepreneurship.

The educational tours will include the opportunity to explore some of the site’s most iconic structures, take part in hands-on workshops, network with peers from around the world, and learn from industry experts behind the event, the largest ever to be held in the Arab world.

The visits are one of several initiatives designed to ensure youth are at the heart of Expo 2020, including apprenticeship and internship programmes and the Expo 2020 Volunteer Programme. UAE University will also have its own pavilion at Expo 2020 centred around its ‘University of the Future’ initiative which aims to revolutionise the provision of tertiary education in the Arab World by 2030.

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the world’s largest meeting of minds, bringing together more than 200 participants, including 192 countries, educational establishments, businesses and multilateral organisations, for a six-month celebration of human brilliance and achievement. The first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, it expects to attract 25 million visits and will run from 20 October 2020 until 10 April 2021.